


The Anatomy of Loyalty

by Piinutbutter



Category: Soul Calibur
Genre: Ficlet Collection, M/M, Master/Servant, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 17:22:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14085858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piinutbutter/pseuds/Piinutbutter
Summary: Private moments from the life of the Merchant of Death and his silent, ever-faithful servant.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All of these snippets were originally posted for prompts on FFA. Decided to collect them here because otherwise they'd just be lost to the winds of Dreamwidth logs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "bloodplay."

Voldo was exceedingly careful with his weapons.

It came as a natural result of serving a merchant who dealt in instruments of death. To Vercci, each weapon was a work of art, every careful cut of a blade something to be admired and dissected. Even once Voldo's sight had gone from him, he still took care to run his calloused fingers over every angle of the weapons he touched, feeling every long hour of work that went into the build, the decoration, and the deadliness.

Manas and Ayus, though, were special. Vercci had bought them from an eccentric merchant, not to sell or keep for his collection but as a gift. They were for Voldo alone, placed into his hands with an explanation of, "They're strange, yet beautiful. Their wielder should be the same."

Beautiful indeed. The handles of the katars were coated in gold, adorned with raised, swirling decorations that Voldo had worn down by tracing them with his fingers hundreds, maybe thousands of times. And the highlight of the whole piece, two bright golden eyes placed just before the blades emerged. He didn't need his own eyes when he had learned to use Manas and Ayus as part of his body.

There were so many memories associated with the weapons, too. Pleasant memories. Like the night after Vercci had purchased them, when he ordered Voldo to bring them to his bedroom.

"We should mark them as yours before you start using them, don't you think?" Vercci asked, holding Ayus aloft and turning it this way and that, letting its shining blades catch the candlelight.

Voldo nodded so fast he was embarrassed at his own eagerness.

"I expected as much." Vercci smiled, gesturing to the floor in front of his chair. Voldo knelt there in one fluid motion.

His master lowered the weapon until the central blade was barely an inch from Voldo's face. One jerk of his wrist and he could cut his servant's eyes out.

"Kiss it."

Voldo tilted his head and placed a delicate, closed-mouth kiss on the flat of Ayus' middle blade. 

Vercci laughed. "Where is this sudden chasteness coming from? You can kiss better than that."

His servant hesitated, his eyes fixed on the blade's wicked tip. After an encouraging nod from Vercci, he took it into his mouth. Its metal was freezing cold against his lips, the end of the blade digging into the center of his tongue, an insistent pressure that turned into a prick of pain and heat as it nicked his tongue's surface.

He looked up at Vercci for approval, and his master gave it with a smile.

"Good."

Then he yanked the blade out of Voldo's mouth, sudden and swift, slicing into his lips. Small drops of blood flew from the tip of the blade, one of them landing on Vercci's boot. After his surprise wore off, Voldo bent down and licked it clean without having to be told.

Vercci brought the weapon up to the light again, trailing his finger along the remaining specks of blood. "There, now it knows it's yours. The other one still needs to learn."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a prompt about ships 90% of people don't care about, which, I mean...

"For god's sake, Vercci, call your damn dog off!"

The shout came from the hall beside the library. It sounded like the local fabric trader who'd practically begged for an invitation to the night's festivities. Vercci sighed and politely excused himself from his other guests.

Voldo had the man pinned against the wall. The hand around the trader's neck was bare, but Ayus waited eagerly in his servant's free hand.

"What's this about?" Vercci asked, nonchalant. He hadn't bothered to set down his glass of wine.

"He just...attacked me," the trader said, prying ineffectively at Voldo's broad hand. "Can't you control him?"

Vercci smiled. "Oh, trust me, I control Voldo quite well. He wouldn't dare assault one of my guests without reason."

Voldo grunted and jerked his head at the trader's waist. Vercci gave him a nod of permission, and he tucked Ayus at his side for the moment. He shoved his hand into the trader's coat pocket, ignoring his shout of offense, and withdrew a set of neatly-rolled documents.

"Oh my. Isn't that interesting?" Vercci plucked the scroll from Voldo's outstretched hand. The trader had gone mysteriously silent, and was staring wide-eyed at the merchant.

"I do believe these are private correspondences from my library desk, dear guest," Vercci said, giving them a cursory glance before tucking them into his own coat. "And I don't recall giving you permission to break into my belongings."

"That's...I..." The trader licked his lips, then jerked against Voldo's grip. "He framed me! The bastard must've-"

Vercci rolled his eyes and waved at Voldo to go on. "Slit his throat."

The trader was dead before Vercci had finished taking a sip of wine.

Vercci reached up and stroked Voldo's hair, a touch Voldo leaned eagerly into. "Good boy. Now put the body somewhere it won't disturb the nice guests."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "size difference."

A tense silence filled the carriage, the only sound the noise of wheels pattering over rough ground as they bore their master home. Voldo was half-tempted to curl up in the corner and see if a man upwards of six feet could make himself inconspicuous. He'd made an awful, thoughtless mistake, even if it had ultimately ended up saving his master's life. 

Grabbing Vercci by the arm and throwing him out of the path of an oncoming blade had seemed like the best action in the heat of the moment. It had put him out of harm's way and allowed Voldo an easy shot at the indignant trader who'd attempted to take his poor business sense out on the most powerful merchant in Naples.

Once that was dealt with, he'd glanced over and realized his master was still on the ground, cradling his left wrist in his right hand. Voldo was at his side in an instant, fretting over him as best he could without words. It stung more than a blow to the face when Vercci refused his offered hand, standing up awkwardly on his own.

"I'm calling the carriage," he announced tersely, and sulked in silence for the entire wait.

Voldo knew his master well enough to know that the minor pain wasn't the issue. This was a matter of pride. Vercci was a deeply prideful man, and he'd made no secret of the fact that Voldo's superior size, and the strength that came along with it, made him envious.

How funny. Vercci wasn't a weak man. He was highly skilled with most of the weapons he bought and traded, if the numerous times he'd kicked Voldo's ass in a sparring match was evidence enough. But all of those had been when Voldo was still young, scrawny, and inexperienced. Vercci had trained him well, molded him into a fearsome fighter and his master's favorite weapon. But in doing so, he'd ensured that his own servant was so much stronger than he. So much so that Voldo could toss him aside like a ragdoll without any effort at all.

The situation would just get worse if he didn't apologize. Voldo glanced up from the floor to Vercci's face. He might have lost his nerve if Vercci had been looking at him, but Vercci was staring out the carriage window, sitting up rigidly straight, his jaw tight.

Voldo slid off his seat and knelt, pressing his cheek against Vercci's leg in a silent apology. Vercci crossed his arms and sighed, but it was the sigh that Voldo knew meant he wouldn't be angry for long.

"I'm still more powerful than you, you know."

Voldo hummed in agreement, nuzzling his face into Vercci's knee.

"Perhaps not physically, but I could end your life in an instant if I wanted to."

"Mmm-hm." As if he would ever want to.

After years of hearing the subtle different nuances in every noise Voldo could make, Vercci recognized his sarcasm. "I could! There are many times I probably should have. But..." He relented and reached down to stroke his fingers through Voldo's hair. “You've made me too damn soft.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "bondage."

"Did you get that?"

A nod of acknowledgement.

“Hellooo.” The noblewoman waved her hand in front of his face, the movement loose and uncoordinated from all the wine she'd consumed over the evening. "I'm talking to you. Answer me." 

Voldo gave her another nod, this one accompanied by a forced, patient smile. 

_I heard you, ma'am. I'll have your order out right away._

The noblewoman rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to snap out another reprimand. The man sitting beside her, even more drunk than she, clapped a hand on her shoulder and let out a chuckle. "Don't bother Vercci's pet cripple, Victoria. It's not his fault."

Voldo cringed physically at the word. How silly of him. Being at Vercci's side, working for such a powerful man and indulging in the luxuries that his station bought him - it had allowed him to pretend he was anything more than a cripple who'd gotten lucky. Even Vercci, cruel and dismissive of his servant's feelings as he could be, had never called Voldo that. Any number of heat-of-the-moment insults about Voldo's lack of intelligence, skill, or usefulness, yes, but never about his body or his voice.

None of the other guests took note of the insult, and Vercci's dinner party continued on, the dining room filled with merry chatter. But Voldo's mood had chilled, and he went through the rest of the evening with a stiff jaw and hands that clenched around the glasses and plates he carried hard enough to finally crack one of them. 

The noise it made was loud enough to attract the attention of the guests closest to him - his master among them. Voldo froze, staring at the floor with wide eyes as the chatter died down around him, that perfect, damnable instinct that all crowds had to go silent when something embarrassing was happening to someone else. His heart pounded in his chest until Vercci broke the silence with a loud, exasperated sigh.

“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to go dispose of that properly?”

Voldo's nodding, bowing, and scurrying away all stumbled over each other and made for one awkward exit. He could _feel_ the nobles snickering behind him.

He didn't have the courage to leave the kitchen for the rest of the night. When the evening was over and Vercci demanded Voldo follow him to his quarters, he just prayed that his master had gotten drunk enough to dull his penchant for cruelty.

He expected violence right away, but instead, Vercci took his chin in hand and forced Voldo to meet his eyes.

“What was that about, hm? I know you've never gone to school, but one doesn't need an education to know how to hold tableware without breaking it."

Voldo's eyes flickered to the side. He licked his lips nervously.

"Was it about Moretti's little comment?"

Huh. He hadn't even realized Vercci had heard that. He nodded, relieved that at the very least he didn't have to try and explain what had irritated him.

Vercci sighed, releasing Voldo's chin and stepping away. "Between you and me, I don't much like the man either. I only continue inviting him to things because his wife has good connections." He opened a drawer on the other side of the room. "Now, close your eyes. I have a surprise for you."

Damn it. Whatever Vercci was planning to do to him, it would be worse if he didn't just go along with it. Reluctantly, he closed his eyes, clenching his fists to try and stay on top of the wave of nerves washing through him.

He heard Vercci's footsteps return to him. "Open your mouth."

Voldo swallowed. He really, really didn't want to do that.

“I won't tell you again." Vercci's voice was calm and dangerous. "Open your mouth."

Slowly, Voldo parted his lips. Then yelped in surprise as something was forced into his mouth - a strip of what tasted like leather, which Vercci was now fastening around the back of his neck. 

“There." Vercci smiled and patted Voldo on the cheek as he made vague noises of protest around the gag. "This way, no one will ever ask you to speak again."

That...that was...

“Oh, and get on your knees with your hands behind your back. I still need to discipline you for breaking my property."


End file.
